US Stock Futures Down Ahead of General Electric, McDonald's Earnings

US stock futures are slightly lower this morning, as investors are awaiting earnings from General Electric Co (NYSE: GE) and McDonald's (NYSE: MCD). Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 9 points to 13,478.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 0.90 points to 1,450.60. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 3.75 points to 2,729.00.US stocks closed lower on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.06% to 13,548.94, the S&P 500 index falling 0.24% to 1,457.34 and the Nasdaq 100 index dipping 1.01% to 3,072.87. Data on existing-home sales for September will be released at 10 a.m. ET.General Electric Company is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.36 per share on revenue of $36.89 billion. Air Products & Chemicals (NYSE: APD) is expected to report its Q4 EPS at $1.43 on revenue of $2.51 billion. Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $0.84 per share on revenue of $5.44 billion.McDonald's is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $1.48 per share on revenue of $7.15 billion. Honeywell International (NYSE: HON) is expected to report its Q3 EPS at $1.14 on revenue of $9.51 billion. ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN) is expected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.68 per share on revenue of $5.11 billion.Shaw Group (NYSE: SHAW) is projected to report its Q4 EPS at $1.36 on revenue of $1.44 billion. Cooper Industries plc (NYSE: CBE) is projected to report its Q3 EPS at $1.14 on revenue of $1.48 billion. Parker-Hannifin (NYSE: PH) is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $1.96 per share on revenue of $3.45 billion. Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) is expected to report its Q3 EPS at $0.84 on revenue of $578.42 million.Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) reported a 22% drop in its fiscal first-quarter profit. Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) posted a Q3 loss and announced its plans to lay off 1,770 workers. Shares of Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) dropped 8.01% during regular trading hours yesterday after the company's third-quarter results were released ahead of schedule. The company's earnings missed Wall Street's estimates. Riverbed Technology (NASDAQ: RVBD) reported upbeat third-quarter adjusted earnings. European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.22%, London's FTSE 100 Index dropped 0.03%, French CAC 40 Index dropped 0.33% and German DAX 30 index fell 0.34%.Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rising 0.22%, China's Shanghai Composite dropping 0.16% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rising 0.28%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.15% and India's Sensex dropped 0.50%.Gold futures for December delivery dropped $10 to trade at $1,734.70 an ounce.The dollar index (DXY) gained 0.09% to trade at 79.42, up from 79.207 in late North American trading on Thursday.